Of all the things I learned during my time with the Toronto Marlies, few things surprised me more than realizing just how many non-hockey decisions a head coach has to make for a professional hockey team to run smoothly. Earlier this week Elliotte Friedman published his latest (always-must-read) 31 Thoughts, and it included this note that really caught my eye. (Emphasis mine below.)

27. [Florida's Bob] Boughner had an interesting answer when I asked him about the biggest adjustments a first-time head coach deals with.

“You don’t want to micromanage,” he said. “You need to have your finger on everything and meet with everyone. But you also want to give your coaches their responsibilities and let them do their jobs. There’s more media requirements. You’ve got to have the pulse in room from your leadership group. Then there’s the stuff you forget about like beating rush-hour traffic on the road, finding ice in different cities, scheduling. From my days...

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